The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-03-30
PESTS OF AFRICA.
A COUNTRY OVERRUN WITH IN
SECTs AND REPTILES.

Curious Habits OF the White Ants
A Remarkable Insect-Destruc-
tive Moths-Dangerons Croco-
diles and Deadly Snakes.
In the southeastern part of South
Africa, writes q correspondent of the
San Francisco Chronicle, there is located
the crown colony of Natal. 1t is but lit
tie known to the world at large, even at
the present time, and until few years
ago, when the zulls under Cctewayo
fought the British troops for long time
successfully, and the tragic and mournful
death of the young Prince Imperial of
France within its boundaries brought it
prominently into notice, it was almost a
terra incognito. Yet, small as it is in re-
gard to territory and population, it can
hold its own with hrgcr and more pre-
tcntious countries ID the variety and
countless number of its insects and rep
tiles. The Termitcs, or white ants,
build for themselves houses or hills Of an,
average height iof three feet above the
ground and three feet in diameter at
the base, ,conisA In nBhape and sometimes
adorned with one or two pinnacles In
rare cases the hills rise to a height Of four
or five feet, the substance of which they
are constructed, earth mixed with a Sc
cretion from their own bodies being as
hard as cement. Mixed with water it is
used as mortar in laying bricks and as
covering for the floors of Kafr kraals
and the houses of the Dutch inhabitants.
It makes strong water and damp proof
floor. The ant houses in the interior are
dividedinto apartments connected by gal
leries. The ants have among themselves
regular guards and soldiers, who, when
q breach is made in their dwelling, rush
forth in its defense and muster the work.
ing ants, who curiously enough are with
out eyes, to repair the damage, and in
surprisingly short time the swarms of ants
will have effected all repairs and every
thing will be right and quiet again. An
animal dies on the Veldt, soon the vul-
lures will have torn off his hide and de-
your all of it excepting the bones, then
the ants in their turn clean and polish
those so that within twenty-four hours
after death there will remain only the
bones, smooth and polished inside and
out, and what was the day previous q
living animal is now disjointed and
whitened skeleton.
These ants are most destructive to
everything wooden. They attack and
eat the door and window frames, floor
timbers and floors of houses, making no
show of their ravages on the exterior, but
devouring the wood uutil there remains
only shell, and to the surprise Of the
dweller, the -sfamming of door, or the
dropping Of window may result in the
total collapse of its frame, which falls in
a cloud of dust. The black ants make
most remarkable journeys or migrations,
and when on the road travel in immense
numbers body from foot to sew
eral yards in width, and being from half
an hour to an hour passinga given point
In these journeys they turn neither to the
right hand nor to the left, stopping only
when coming to water. Any obstruction,
like house or tree, they pass over,
swarming up one side and down the
other. Should they find an open door or
window, woe be to that house. The
Kaffirs in their cruel manner of punish
ing their enemies, sometimes fasten the
poor victim to the ground in the way of
these ants, and he is almost devoured be-
fore life becomes extinct. The insects
will not leave the body until every bone.
is polished. The ant hills are to the
traveller useful in one way. BY scooping
out one side and part of the interior and
making a fire in the cavity, he has most
excellent oven, which retains the heat
well. I have eaten often bread and meat
baked in these primitive but good ovens.
A peculiarity Of these ants is that on
warm evening, about the middle of
March, millions of them with wings
said to be females-infest the houses, at
tracted by the lights. Their wings are
light and gauzy, lasting for this night
only. They drop them off and disap-
pear I have seen flying ants so thick in
a billiard room as to put a stop the play
ing, and so much of q nuisance as to
drive people away from dining table.
Sitting in my room one evening read
ing, my attention was drawn to remark
able looking insect, which sat up on its
launches before me- 1t was of bright
emerald-green color, three inches long,
and evidently of the grasshopper species.
It had face like deaths head, with
large protruding eyes, which it rolled
about in most comical manner. Its fore
legs resembled arms with hands, which it
held up on either side of its face like
Mortified old woman. Altogether it is q
most ludicrous insect. 1t is called by the
inhabitants the "Hottentot God.n The
Kaffirs are very supcrstitious about it, be-
lieving that it is the forerunner of death.
1t is harmless unless annoyed, when it
will show fight.
Of grasshoppers and locusts there are
so many sorts, from those that are six
inches long and armor- plated like a small
ron-clad to little wee things hardly per-
ceptible. All of them, however, are ter
ribly destructive to vegetation. Moths
and butterflies are innumcrablc, some of
them are very beautiful as they flash
among the flowers in the bright African
sunlight, while others are of more SOM
Der hue. We must not forget the de-
structive fsh-moth, who finds out all
woolen garments and to your utter dis
may, when q cold snap comes on and you
think that you have nice warm garment
to put on, giving it shake to dislodgc
the spiders, scorpions and other disagree
! able tenants who like to take up their
abode in all put-away clothing, to find it
fy off in dust, and instead of what you
expected you have fine lace-work arti-
Gle, useless even if ornamental. Spiders
there arc, from those as large as pigeons